Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
Published on: May 22, 2016
Photoinduced-electron-transfer chemistry: from studies on PET processes to applications in natural product synthesis
Axel G Griesbeck1, Norbert Hoffmann, Klaus-Dieter Warzecha
1Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Cologne, Greinstr. 4, 50939 Köln, Germany.
Abstract:
The application of photoinduced electron transfer (PET) for the construction of heterocyclic ring systems is an appealing route in synthetic organic photochemistry. Electronically excited carbonyl chromophors in ketones, aldehydes, amides, or imides are strong electron acceptors that oxidize alkenes, amines, thioethers, or carboxylates. In subsequent steps, the radical anions formed thereof either are operating as secondary electron donors and initiate a photon-driven chain reaction or combine with electrophilic species and form products. These reactions are applied in the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. The basic structures of these target molecules are bicyclic tertiary amines from the pyrrolizidine, benzopyrrolizidine, and indolizidine families, cyclic oligopeptides, macrocyclic ring systems, and many more.
Related Concept Videos
Photochemical Electrocyclic Reactions: Stereochemistry
Selection Rules: Photochemical Activation
The Z-Scheme of Electron Transport in Photosynthesis
Thermal and Photochemical Electrocyclic Reactions: Overview
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Photosystem II
The pigment molecules are arranged across two photosystem domains — the antenna complex and the reaction center. The main aim of the pigment molecules...
The Photochemical Reaction Center
![Cercosporin-Photocatalyzed [4+1]- and [4+2]-Annulations of Azoalkenes Under Mild Conditions](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront.jove.com%2FCDNSource%2Fteasers%2F60786.jpg&w=3840&q=50)
![[(DPEPhos)(bcp)Cu]PF6: A General and Broadly Applicable Copper-Based Photoredox Catalyst](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront.jove.com%2FCDNSource%2Fteasers%2F59739.jpg&w=3840&q=50)